Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time. However, Jordan was drafted third overall in the 1984 NBA Draft due to the presence of two highly touted big men.
Former NBA champion Richard Jefferson recently shared that he believes LeBron James would go after Victor Wembanyama in a hypothetical draft. He used the 1984 NBA Draft to drive home his point.
During a recent episode of the ‘Road Trippin’ podcast, Jefferson expanded on his point of view:
“When I said that LeBron James would probably go number two in this exact same draft, let me explain to you history. Where did Michael Jordan go? Michael Jordan went three, why? There were two bigs taken in front of him. You had Sam Bowie and you had Hakeem Olajuwon.”
Jefferson continued:
“The NBA will always go with the size, that’s just the way it is. We’re talking about Michael Jordan. Hit the game-winning shot as a national champion freshman, all the hype from that time. Fast forward, where did Luka Doncic go? He went third behind DeAndre Ayton and Marvin Bagley. Teams always go with size.”
Jefferson believes that Wembanyama’s nationality plays a role in the debate:
“LeBron James at 6’7, who is the most hyped partly because he lived here. If Wembanyama had been going to Oak Hill and was from Georgia, we would be freaking out over him. It’s because he’s from France. So, when I tell you this … Kevin Durant, went number two to the big man.”
Jefferson received plenty of pushback for his initial comments. Many noted the level of hype surrounding James when he finished his senior season of high school. James received a $90 million contract from Nike upon the conclusion of his high school career.
Watch Richard Jefferson’s comments below (starting at the 1:02 mark):
Shaquille O’Neal recently picked Michael Jordan as the greatest basketball player of all time
During a recent appearance on ‘Impulsive’NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal labeled Michael Jordan as the greatest basketball player of all time.
While discussing LeBron James’ pursuit of the NBA scoring record, O’Neal shared that passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will not change his perspective on the debate:
“I think the greatest player is Michael Jordan. LeBron’s about to do something that hasn’t been done in a long time … But for me, it’s always Dr. J, Michael Jordan, Magic.”
O’Neal added that Michael Jordan was the only opponent that he feared playing against.
Watch Shaquille O’Neal’s comments below (starting at the 26:54 mark):
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